LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Many filmmakers use artificial intelligence to make the final product look realistic and visually stunning. It gives the audience an immersive and engaging experience with special effects and animation techniques. While AI has already made its impact known on the entertainment industry, it has created havoc for many production companies as they find themselves targeted by scammers. Recently, some scammers used ‘Doctor Strange’ star Benedict Cumberbatch’s fake AI voice to target a production company.
It is widely known that AI can now clone actual human voices, enabling fraudsters to scam production companies by cloning actors’ voices. A group of scammers cloned Benedict Cumberbatch's voice and targeted the Spain-based Peabody Films. Luckily, the company was able to identify the fraud before it escalated into a serious folly.
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How did the scammers target Peabody Films?
Peabody Films is an independent production company founded by iconic British film director Barney Platts-Mills. It is now directed by Bob Williams. Being a small production company, they were stupefied at the idea that ‘Doctor Strange’ lead Benedict Cumberbatch would approach them to work on their film, as per Dailymail.
Bob Williams said the company received a phone call from a voice that closely resembled Benedict Cumberbatch's asking to discuss a film deal. At first, Bob was convinced it was Benedict; however, when the fake Benedict refused to meet in person, it rang alarm bells in his mind. He said, “At first, the email seemed like a dream come true. Benedict Cumberbatch had apparently read the script for our upcoming movie and was interested in discussing a potential role.” He continued, “As we read further, we couldn’t believe our luck. Here was one of the most talented actors of our time, reaching out to us and showing interest in our project.”
“We were shocked and disappointed to discover that we had been the victim of an AI program posing as a famous actor,” said Bob in frustration. He further added that AI had been increasingly providing a platform for scammers to steal their way out of honest people, and what happened to them is an example of the potential mischief one can do with AI technology.
How did they identify the voice was fake?
Bob Williams explained that they got an email from someone who claimed to be the 'Avengers star’s agent and suggested setting up a call. After that, he realized that the number he had called from had many digits, and the fake Benedict was hesitant to meet in person. Moreover, Bob knew it could easily be a scam because the technology is already here to clone any person’s voice in the world. Also, according to McAfee, the US, UK, France, Germany, Japan, India, and Australia are among the countries where AI voice scams target 10 percent of people.
Moreover, the AI voice generator is an effective and convincing tool. Bob added, “The fake Cumberbatch was 100 percent convincing; it was the voice. No question about it.” He continued, “AI must have been the source. We thought at first it might be a voice actor playing a practical joke - but then it went on, and they started asking for money.” The company shared multiple conversations with fake Benedict, with some notable red flags. Bob shared, “There were also some strange requests, such as asking us to pay a sign-up fee of £200,000 ($250K) before even meeting us in person.” He also challenged the fake Benedict to ask where he got the script from as it was not circulated, and his question was not even acknowledged. Also, when Bob called the real company to ask the name of the fake agent, it was revealed that there was no such agent.
Bob says he believes they were targeted because they are a small company, as scammers often presume that such companies do not have the resources to check the details. Also, he says he is considering reporting the attack to the police.
